Small Town Charm

Looking for big city culture without the big city hassles? Nestled in the heart of the Yadkin Valley Wine Region, Elkin is a small town with magical appeal. Featuring art galleries, historic sites, restaurants, boutiques and much more. Come see why Elkin is a small town with Big Culture.

Set about an hours distance from the bright lights of the big city, many residents selected Elkin specifically for its diversity of activities, amenities, people and ideas, as well as the cohesiveness and caring spirit traditional of most rural communities.

Wine and Music abound at annual festivals ranging from the internationally-renown Merle Fest, to the Yadkin Valley Wine Festival and Yadkin Valley Pumpkin Festival.

The Foothills Arts Council

The Foothills Arts Council enriches the lives of Yadkin Valley residents and visitors through enjoyment of the visual and performing arts and to supporting the work of local artists, artisans, writers, musicians and performers. Through the years the Foothills Arts Council has sponsored a wide variety of arts experiences for children in the Elkin City Schools, from puppeteers to sumi ink painters, as well as the community in general, including Doc Watson, the North Carolina Symphony, and a Chinese acrobatic circus. The Foothills Arts Council also partnered with the Friends of the Elkin Public Library at Streetscene every April to provide a childrens theater performance, and with the Foothills Nature Science Society to offer S.P.L.A.S.H.! (Summer Programs Linking Art-Science-History) for several summers.

The Yadkin Valley Craft Guild

The Yadkin Valley Craft Guild began as an effort to encourage development of small businesses in fine craft making. The Craft Guild's apprentice program is not only teaching students weaving, quilting, pottery, wood and metal working but the business management skill needed for artisans to own their own shops. Plus, thanks to a collaboration between the wineries and the Guild today the Arts community is thriving in Elkin.

Reeves Theater Restoration

Upon completion, the Reeves will be an active and vital performing arts and cinema theater for the community. Modern amenities, plush seating, and state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems will satisfy the most demanding expectations. A richly embellished lobby and rooftop veranda will offer commanding views of both Elkin's rich history and the valley's natural beauty.

The Reeves Theater will be a focal point of downtown Elkin, a place where audiences - residents and visitors, children and adults - from across northwest North Carolina and surrounding areas will encounter, explore, enjoy, and support artists in a wide range of public performance media

The mission of the Foothills Arts Council is to enrich the lives of Yadkin Valley residents and visitors through enjoyment of the visual and performing arts, and to support the work of local artists, artisans, writers, musicians and performers.

The Afro-American Cultural Center (AACC) of Charlotte is a distinguished, 33-year old institution that preserves, promotes, and presents African-American art, history and culture through comprehensive programs and presentations in the visual arts, performing arts, and through innovative educational programs.

The African American Atelier, Inc., a non-profit art organization, seeks to promote an awareness, appreciation and sensitivity to the visual arts and culture of African Americans and to work in harmony with other ethnic groups.

The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts supports the mission of Appalachian State University through regionally significant exhibition, education, and collection programs. Underlying the center's mission is the belief that the arts play vital roles in the development of creative and critical potential, and in experiencing, interpreting, understanding, recording, and shaping culture.